you can stop being wrong about that thing if it ever comes up again. now that we are considering using clinton's policies again, it's important to remember who was wrong and what the effect will be of those policies. if they are making the same arguments that proved to be wrong the last time we tried this, well, then the role of the media should be able to do that out loudly, even on sunday morning, which happened this weekend on "meet the press" because lawrence was there. first look is up next. right now on first look, it is crunch time in washington, president obama ratchets up the pressure on lawmakers as they try to hammer out a deal on the fiscal cliff before the holiday recess. new details on a navy s.e.a.l. who died during a daring mission in afghanistan. plus, a fireball over texas, and more dogs behind the wheel.

good morning, even. i'm lynn berry. there is a renewed sense urgency in washington as house members returned to town today with just 21 days left to avert that so-called fiscal cliff, and if the framework for an agreement isn't reached by the end of the week, lawmakers could be spending christmas in d.c. tracie potts has those good morning. the president sitting down with john boehner, the staff sitting behind closed door, but today republican members come back to capitol hill and boehner may have a problem. >> all these members are going to come back to town, and they're going to want to play a role in these negotiations. >> the house is back today. that means conservative republicans who insist the wealthy keep this year's tax breaks could put the squeeze on their own party. that's the one thing president obama refuses to bend on.

otherwise he says he's flexible. >> i understand, you know, people have a lot of different views. i'm willing to compromise a little bit. >> so are some republicans to save tax breaks for the middle class now and deal with the wealthy later. let's recognize reality, take care of as many people as we possibly can. >> polls show more taxpayers will blame republicans if taxes go up. that's increasing the odds of a year-end deal. >> it's a better than 50/50 chance, and there's a very good chance that we'd be able to avoid a lot of the fiscal cliff. >> behind the scenes negotiations continue today. republicans say they're waiting for the president to outline more spending cuts. the three big issues, tax rates, entitlement reform, medicare and social security, and whether to raise the debt ceiling. we're about to hit it again, and america may need to borrow more. and on those issues at least for now on chilapitol hill, democra

seem to think they have the upper hand. that's it for now. >> thanks so much. last night he describes what he says is to use the debt creel as a pawn in the fiscal cliff negotiations. >> they see the handwriting on the wall and they're going to have to extend it, and if they don't the whole country will see they were willing to tank the entire economy and give everybody the tax break to give people at the top a bonus. where they're just dead wrong, ed, is thinking they're going to gain leverage over this debt ceiling because the american people are not going to stand for republicans turning right around and threatening to destroy the american economy by having the united states default on its debts. >> don't miss "the ed show" 8:00

p.m. eastern time. there are new details about the stunning military operation and the u.s. navy s.e.a.l. who heroically gave his life to help save a doctor kidnapped by the taliban. nbc's jim has the story. he was a highly decorated navy veteran killed sunday in afghanistan. the s.e.a.l.s set out to rescue an american relief worker dr. dilip joseph kidnapped last week on the road east of kabul. joseph was held hostage at an enemy complex in laghman province. as they approached the compound on foot, they came under intense enemy fire, from ak 478s, heavy

machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. in the fierce battle the petty officer took a single bullet and later died from his wound. in the heat of that battle they miraculously rescued dr. joseph. he had earned a bronze star and two other awards. he's a native of monroeville, pennsylvania. he was widely admired by coaches and classmates alike. >> i remember nick real well. he was one of those guys you loved to have on your team. >> and he's a special, special person, so he won't be forgotten. >> reporter: dr. joseph works with an american relief organization morningstar providing free medical care for afghan civilians. he was flown to the nearby air b.a.s.e. and is expected to

return soon. jim miklaszewski, nbc, pentagon. there was more snow that piled up in wisconsin over the last two days than that state saw all of last year, with up to 16 inches falling in some air yas. and while some enjoyed the wintry white settings, slippery roads and bitter conditions were blamed for at least four deaths, 600 crashes and more than 1,100 spinouts from minnesota to the texas border. new york's democratic governor andrew cuomo, a potential candidate in 2016 will not say whether he would endorse hillary clinton. he says that's a long way away and she hasn't decided if she will run. if u.n. ambassador susan rice is nominated for secretary of state to replace hillary clinton, senator john mccain

said he will be part of theirings. conservative glenn beck is now joining republicans who support gay marriage. he said, quote, it's not whether they should be married or not. the question is why is the government involved in our marriage. former house majority leader dick armey talking on cbs talking about the 2012 election said, quote, we had a lot of candidates, quite frankly, that did dumb things out there. the republican national committee is planning an autopsy on the campaign to exam what worked and what didn't work in 2012. a new politico poll finds that romney supported him by 47% and 650% put romney on their night list. meanwhile the president and

his family got in the spirit at the christmas concert with diana ross and koenen o'brien and they got to meet some of the former patients who dressed up as santa's little helper elves. >> release the elves. hey, elf, what's your name. >> olivia. >> everybody look up and say cheese. >> cheese. >> cheese. >> say merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> ho, ho, ho. >> ho, ho, ho. >> he does a good santa. and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. and now for a look at your national weather, let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins, he has your weather forecast. incredibly cute. did you see the kid up front. >> try saying broccoli next time somebody takes a picture. that's a lot of fun. >> you have way too much time on

your hands. >> well, good morning, everyone. the snow pack continues across the northern half of the country. we watched this stack last week for this time of year. only 7% of the country had snow. the northern plains were snow-free, new england, the great lakes. well, we had this big snowstorm go through the plains and the rockies. the snow plains go down the border, omaha, north of chicago, the northern great lakes have snow, all of the upper midwest, and we've even got snow down through colorado and even new mexico. now we have 32% of the country covered by snow, which is where we should be for this time of the year. that's what it took. one big storm. will the cold and the snow remain? doesn't look like it. it's a little better than yesterday. the colder air finally made its way to the east coast. it does have some rain showers with it. some are moving through philadelphia right now and a also down in south florida and we had the tornadoes pretty

nasty down in areas of florida. now, as far as radar, you can see philadelphia, through new jersey. this will come through the next hour, hour and a half. and then through connecticut it should be all gone by 8:00 a.m. definitely cooler on the east coast. in the midwest, you definitely remain on the chilly side but everything should have a dry afternoon. the exception, again, lynn, florida, low 80s and dodging showers. still hard to feel bad for them. >> yeah, it is. thank so much. bright lights over texas, colorado's rocky high, and, bill, who is hoarding all the donkey cheese. i've been asking that question all morning. i will tell you coming up. it's not me. it's not me. plus, new government warnings, how governments may be collecting large amounts of data on your kids. you're watching "first look" on m s msnbc. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again.

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some stories making news this morning. "the new york times" reports that president obama considers withdrawing the last american troops in afghanistan, the

afghan army is not making much progress in training to take over security. the pentagon reports only one of the afghan's army's 23 brigade s is able to operate independently without support from the u.s. or nato. the colorado governor has signed the law to legalizes the use of marijuana. state voters approved the change to the state's constitution last month. an investigation is under way by the federal trade commission into whether software companies that make cell phone apps violated the rights of children by capturing data on their physical location and telephone numbers of their friends. for the first time in decades, several american cities including new york and los angeles are reporting small declines in childhood obesity rates, but it's not exactly clear what's causing it. thousands of people in houston, texas, say they saw something just before 7:00 a.m.

last friday, but very few reported it. so we now know it was a meteor streaking overhead that cause thad impressive bright flash. well, let's go over to wall street where the dow closed at 13,169 after adding 14 points yesterday. s&p was up a fraction. nasdaq gained 8. overseas, the nikkei lost 8 points but in hong kong, the hang sang rose 47. well, this morning, an apology and an impressive find for a british banking giant. hsbc will pay a record $1.9 billion to settle a u.s. criminal probe alleging the firm ignored red flags about money laundering for years. today the bank admitted to a breakdown of controls. meanwhile, standard chartered is shelling and selling out a smaller but still significant sum of $327 million for violating u.s. saks sancti

against iran, sudan, and two other countries. the u.s. treasury is selling its remaining stake in aig for just under $8 billion. that ends the era of government ownership. on the street, hp, the dow's worst performer shot up on rumors that activist investor carl icahn is building a stake in the pc maker. meanwhile mcdonald's gave blue chips a boost in better than expected sales. apple and google have reportedly combined their competing bids for a bundle of kodak patents. former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn and a maid have agreed to settle a suit. the dollar amount will remain confidential. retailers hired 465,000 seasonal workers land month. up 25% from last year. they say apple's map is life-threatening, this after several drivers headed for a town in australia where it ended

at a dirt road miles away from food and water. finally, serbian tennis champ novak djokovic ruined the world's christmas after he bought up the entire year's supply for his new restaurant. it, by the way, is made from a milk of serbian donkeys. i'm sure a lot of disappointed folks out there. well, coming up, dramatic video of a foiled robbery attempt. and a massive funnel cloud in florida. plus, dogs usually have to chase car, right? not these guys. they'll have a different approach. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. e, and people seemed to like it. so we wondered -- where else could we take this? ♪ for over 40 years, we've brought our passion for fine coffee and espresso to people everywhere. but one place was impossible, until now. our lattes, espresso and brewed coffee, now in your home from a machine like no other.

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all right. an update to a story we first told you about last week. it's being called a first. a dog in new zealand has driven a car on its own. no, we are not making this up. you really can't. the dog named monty is one of three dogs that were taught to drive using special commands and controllers alongside their trainer. yesterday monte took his first solo ride. it was live on television. congratulations. thank you for the fantastic video. well, here's a look at your first news going on around america today. we're going to begin with the life and death struggle. it was all caught on tape. staring down the barrel of a shotgun. a florida man fought off a gunman's robbery attempt. he and co-workers pounded the

suspect until police arrived. next to new york city where police are hunting the criminal responsible for this vicious attack on an 85-year-old woman right inside the elevator. the suspect snatched her purse and wedding ring. the victim, whose husband is terminally ill, begged for the ring but was ignored. a twister tore through the sunshine state leaving about 40 homeowners with severe property damage. so far central florida officials have recorded down power lines and trees, as well as scattered debris along roadways. finally, our four-alarm fire ruined preps for difl ya's annual new year's day celebration. the blaze torched a warehouse that was used to store costumes and floats for the mummers' parade. there were over 100 firefighters that battled that fire before it was brought under control. organizers for the mardi gras-like event says they won't need what to replace until they assess the damage.

well, to sports, "monday night football," texans and patriots. new england's tom brady connected on four touchdown passes. 42-15. the nba, houston and san antonio went to overtime. surged ahead for a 134-26 victory over the rockets. in miami lebron james poured in 27 points against atlanta, and the heat beat the hawks, 101-92. all right. it's being called one of the worst free throws ever caught on tape. here's why. look at this guy, a 6-foot appalachian state junior. very carefully, ball goes up but not even close to the rim. maybe the worst air ball of all time. you can relate, can't you? and in turkey, tempers flared at a wheelchair basketball game as supporters of the rival team started a brawl. police had to use tear gas to eventually disperse the rowdy fans. all right, now let's get another check at your weather

with bill karins. he has a check on your weather channel forecast. >> we talked about the northeast having amazingly warm temperatures. now we're going back toward wintertime. it's really not that bad. light rain. the cold front is beginning to head through. the only place that's shockingly colder this time is back toward the great lakes in areas from pittsburgh to buffalo. about 20 degrees colder than yesterday. temperatures still holding fairly warm for this time of year right along the eastern seaboard and all the big cities. you get away with a nice warm morning. tomorrow would be when the cold air filters in. temperature, as the cooler air rushes in, it kind of combats and goes against the sun and will've itself out. temperatures will hold 50 right during the day and it will dry out everywhere for a sunny afternoon. the object travel trouble spot in south florida, showers and thunderstorms, but nothing like the tornadoes we saw yesterday. back to you, lynn. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. just ahead, afi's tot stories of the euro and what taylor swift

and yoko ohno have in common. and you mix this account and yada, yada, yada, you get an entertainment plot headline. more of "first look" on msnbc.

everyone's speaking of me. >> south carolina's jim demint is stepping down. guess who's stepping up as a possible candidate. stephen colbert. >> i want to put my vote in for him now. god knows the senate could use stephen colbert. >> there's a twitter page, draft page. i can tell you having done a show with him in charleston,

he's an absolute rock star in that state. >> now you know why. all right. so could taylor swift be the modern-deo cmodern-day yoko ono? "e! news" online says swift and one direction harry styles budding romance is making band annoyed. styles opted to fly on taylor's private jet may going him irritated. >> taylor's having difficulties in on the dating scenes. is that what we're calling it? and beyonce has signed a $50 million deal with pepsi. it includes a beyonce pepsi can. >> there's a twitter account asking what if seinfeld were

still on the air. some of the best ones, george goes through his beautiful girlfriend's e-mail and discovers all of her exes are short, stocky, and bald. he dumps her immediately. george's parents claim their house was destroyed by sandy. he moves in. jerry breaks up with his girlfriend because she instagrams everything that she eats. george tries to get a job with the nets. all good. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. typical middle-class family of four will see an income tax hike of under $2,200. how many of you can afford to pay another $2,200 in taxes? not you? i didn't think so. you can't afford to lose that money.